I wrote previously about Karin Jurick’s Different Strokes from Different Folks cooperative painting blog, in which participants all paint their interpretation of a given photographic subject.
In a fascinating variation for the Year End Challenge, participating painters were asked to submit a photograph of themselves from the shoulders up. These were then swapped, distributed out to different artists in the the artistic equivalent of an office gift swap (sometimes called a “pollyanna”), and each artist painted another artist’s portrait.
The resultant paintings are a fascinating array of portraits, in different styles, approaches, mediums and degrees of accomplishment.
I find the idea of artists painting artists particularly fascinating.
(Please see the Different Strokes article for artist credits for the images above.)
I thought it was an excellent project – I’m particularly impressed by the quality of some of the portraits painted –
However everybody seems to have done well at demonstrating their style of painting and/or interpreting the subject. So refreshing to see work which isn’t just a straight copy of a photo!
Because doing portraits is down on my list of “to do in the distant” future, I didn’t catch on to this blog.
Then, I saw it! Wow! What an awesome collection, and the definition of authentic works. It begs to become a book, IMO.
Thanks for the comments, Casey.
Other readers can see Casey Klahn’s blog The Colorist here.
What a cool idea. I wish I had know about this -I would have participated.
Way to go with the Coraline gift box, BTW.
Thanks, Ben. It might bear watching the ongoing challenges, you never know what Karin will come up with.
Thanks for the congrats on the box. I thought it was pretty cool.
Other readers can check out Ben Hatke’s blog, Art and Adventure, and his portfolio site, as well as my mentions of his comic Zita the Spacegirl here and here, though I’m a little dismayed that the Zita the Spacegirl site seems currently inactive. (Hopefully a temporary state?)
Charley, I was a participant in this challenge, my first. Was thrilled to be in such fine company…
Hi Charley, thanks for picking my painting as one of the portrait images. You made my day!!!
Charley, word is getting around. I’m thrilled to have my submission to the challenge recognized on your wonderful blog. Thanks!!!
What a nice article. Thanks Charley! I was thrilled to be among the great company of artists that submitted their work on this challenge. We played a fun waiting game! Thanks (to you and/or Karin) for selecting my portrait of Victoria as one of those portraits in this showcase.
Hey Charley, thanks for pointing people toward my blog.
I’m at work right now on a long Zita the Spacegirl Graphic Novel for First Second Books (the first of two). It’s been a long time coming, but when I have the book under control I hope to get the website back in order as well.
Great! Please let me know when the site is back up and/or when the graphic novel is scheduled for release.
Charley,I was fortunate enough to have Karin present me with Adebanji Alade’s photo. Not knowing who it was, and the face half in shadow, I “detective worked” the previous challenge’s submissions. When I ran across the little fellow peering out of the “work boots” challenge, I knew I hit paydirt. So sure, I incorporated his painting in my portrait of him. Doing detective work of his own, he visited my wildlife art site and picked up on my fondness of frogs. He responded in kind, with my image, neck-deep in the swamp, surrounded by the little slimers. Everyone got a big kick out of our artworks, and Adebanji and I are now close daily Internet blog buddies…as are Akiko, Pattie and Marilyn. Caring and sharing in the art blog community is more valuable to me than all the treasures of the Louvre.
Thanks, James. I think it’s great that the internet is expanding the way artists connect and interact with each other, in addition to changing the way artists interact with their patrons and clients. I hadn’t thought about the social interaction precipitated by the challenge rounds, though I wouldn’t be surprised if Karin has some insight into that when she began, and it’s a terrific aspect of the project.
Wow! Excellent project! This is a very interesting approach to portraits and I would love to do something like this when I become a teacher!